Little River, New York, 1994: April Sawicki is living in a motorless motorhome that her father won in a poker game. Failing out of school, picking up shifts at a local diner, she’s left fending for herself in a town where she’s never quite felt at home. When she “borrows” her neighbor’s car to perform at an open mic night, she realizes her life could be much bigger than where she came from. After a fight with her dad, April packs her stuff and leaves for good, setting off on a journey to find a life that’s all hers. If you know me, you know I’m a broad church both musically and bookishly. I don’t stick to any one genre of music, though I have my favorites. And I love to read as widely as possible — across genres and age ranges. So if I’m choosing must-read books about musicians, there’ll be fiction and nonfiction. We’ve got comics and YA. And you know there will be plenty of music genres represented. There are plenty of great books about music theory, the history of music scenes, and cultural analyses of music’s influence. But today we’re focusing on the musicians themselves. Let’s get to know a few. The hits don’t stop there. We’ve got more of the best books about musicians, and I rounded up nonfiction about music as well. If you like to hear from the musicians themselves, please have as many music memoirs as you’d like. So keep a song in your heart and a book in your eyeballs, friends.
